Services Agreement Package

Create a services agreement with your customers.

Here you create a contract which is the basis on which your company earns revenue from delivering services to its customers. Revenue is the lifeblood of a company, and so we give careful attention to ensure that the essential features are commercially accurate. The contract we create is usually intended to be re-used by you with all your customers.

This is not a template exercise. Our approach will be to engage with you on the topics we have described below. Based on our discussions with you, we will then prepare a short framework document – which is a brief overview of the essential features – that ensures that everyone understands the goals of the services agreement before drafting starts, saving time, improving our drafting speed and avoiding misunderstandings on all sides. Then, we produce a high-quality document, quickly, at a price which we will quote you on in advance.

HOW DOES THIS WORK? ∨

Start the process by clicking the button below. We will send you a welcome pack and specifically:

once you’ve had an opportunity to consider the discussion topics set out in the welcome pack, you will consult with us (in person / over Skype / by phone). As part of our commitment to our goal of removing all obstacles to engaging with clients, this meeting / Skype / phone call will be free of charge. The more prepared you are for the consultation, the more value you’ll get out of it – we will answer any questions that you may have during the consultation regarding your services agreement and the costs related to finalising it;

if you choose to engage with us, we will prepare a framework document which summarises the key features of the services agreement – this is intended to be quick to understand, so that we are all on the same page before we start the drafting; and

we then create the services agreement which, based on the process described above, will be highly relevant and accurate.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH IN A SERVICES AGREEMENT? ∨

We will start our engagement with you by providing you with a list of topics for discussion – this will prepare you for our consultation, and help to make it as valuable and efficient as possible. The topics of discussion will generally include:

the services themselves: what are they? What are they intended to achieve? How do you measure whether they are delivered to the customer’s expectations?

are you expected to give any warranties about the services? This can be a real risk to your business if they are too broad, or not what you intended – extensive warranties can make your services much costlier to deliver than you priced them for.

risk limitations: if your services are “business critical” to the customer, you should expect the customer to ask you to guarantee the services. In addition, you should expect the customer to ask for financial compensation if the guarantee fails. This changes from customer to customer, and we will equip you with negotiation tools to limit this potential risk.

your customer’s responsibilities: often the services require that the customer makes certain time, space or resources available. If the customer does not do that, sometimes the services can’t be properly delivered. We will spell this out in a way that protects you and your revenue if you are blocked by the customer.

fees: what types of fees are charged and when? What are the rules regarding invoicing and payment? Does the customer need to accept the services before all or some of the fees can be charged?

exclusivity: will you be allowed to deliver similar services to other customers? Will your customer be allowed to buy similar services from other service providers?

intellectual property: often intellectual property (“IP”) is created in the course of delivering services to your customer. If that is so in your case, who owns the IP? Is there “pre-existing” IP that one party will own, which must be distinguished from “new” IP that is created for a customer?

term: how long will the contract continue for?

confidential information: will either party be receiving confidential information about the other, and should there be obligations to keep that information confidential?

COST? ∨

One of our primary goals as a firm is to remove all obstacles to engaging with our clients. Our continued commitment to this goal is demonstrated by our offer of an initial consultation free of charge. If you choose to engage with us after our consultation:

our initial fee for the preparation of the framework document will be as agreed between us during the consultation; and

the consultation and framework document will put us in a position to give you an exact fee quote for creating your services agreement. You will have no obligation to accept that fee quote or proceed with our firm.

AND THEN? ∨

We hope to empower you to re-use this services agreement over and over without having to come back to us. However, we will be on hand to assist in any specific customer negotiations. We are also available to help you evolve this agreement over time.

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Thank you for your request for a meeting. We can have the meeting either in person, over Skype or over the phone. If you’d like to meet in person, we’d be happy to meet either at your incubator’s offices (if they are based in Cape Town) or at our offices.

Please provide us with the below information – we will then contact you to set up our meeting.

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Thank you for your request to start the Services Agreement Package.

Please tick the box below to accept our terms of engagement, and then provide us with your name and email address. We will then send you a welcome pack to consider and set up a meeting / Skype / phone call to get to know you and your business.

Thank you for your request for a call. We’d be happy to set up a 10 minute call with you free of charge. Please provide us with your name, email address, contact details and a proposed time and date for the call.